Using social media and email to increase your donations
VSO
Follow our tips to help you make use of social media and email to boost your fundraising – with very little effort and no cost to you.
Link up your social networks to your JustGiving page
If you are using JustGiving for your fundraising (our preferred way to receive funds) make sure you link your account to your social networks. This way, when you post updates to your JustGiving page they will be posted to all your connected social networks such as Twitter and Facebook, providing a link that your friends and family can follow to donate.
Repetition is key
It usually takes three reminders before someone donates to your cause - a sign of how busy our lives have become. It might feel like you are repeating yourself and being pushy, but the fact is people are busy and tend to put off donations so gentle reminders of what you’re doing and your progress towards your total can be very helpful!
Don’t forget that not everyone will see what you post first time – the more updates you make the greater the chance that enough of your friends will know what you are doing.
Be imaginative
What can you post about? As well as showing the end rsult - you crossing the finishing line at that fun run, getting your hair dyed green or hosting a round-the-world dinner party - you should show the preparation. That way, they can see all the hard work you are putting in.
The more networks the better
If you are on LinkedIn, don’t forget to post about your fundraising there. The same goes for Snapchat, Tumblr and Instagram – the more accounts you use, the more widely the news of your fundraising will spread.
Use images
Images get a very high level of engagement compared to other types of posts, especially on Facebook. Take pictures all the way along your fundraising journey and share – particularly photos with you in them.
Make use of profile pictures and cover and header photos
Most social networks, including Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, allow you to personalise your page with an individual profile picture, cover photo and/or background image. Think about creating special images that reference your fundraising and this will act as a ‘nudge’ reminder every time someone visits your profile. You could use Photoshop, Paint or a free online image editor like Pixlr to add text that says what you are doing and asking for help.
Create an email signature
While you’re at it, why not create an email signature that promotes your fundraising? It could be as simple as a line of text asking for help including a link to your JustGiving page, or include a picture. Don’t forget to do this for both your work and personal email accounts.
Use video
Video is also a great way to engage people with your fundraising. Why not film a weekly video blog update on your phone about what you are up to, how you are feeling and what stage you are at in making it towards your goal, then post it on YouTube or Facebook?
Use social media to show the reason you are fundraising
Friends and family will want to support your personal fundraising journey, but the decision to donate money is also an emotional one. People want to know the difference they could make by contributing.
You can do just that by sharing case studies from our website. For example, you might make a post to say “Did you know that £4 will pay for a day of lifesaving work by one of our skilled volunteers in Nepal?” Find out more about our work here.
More example phrases can be found here
Link with VSO online
Our accounts on Twitter, Facebook, Youtube and Instagram are a great way to find photos and information that you can share to boost your own fundraising as well as a way of getting inspiration and advice from other fundraisers. Don’t forget to share your JustGiving page on our Facebook page too!
